Timothy Snyder is an American historian specializing in Central Europe and the Holocaust. He is a professor at Yale University (Connecticut) and a researcher at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna (Austria). Author of fifteen books, all published in French by Gallimard, Timothy Snyder has published a new edition of his masterpiece, Bloodlands. Europe between Hitler and Stalin (Gallimard, translated from English by Pierre-Emmanuel Dauzat, 752 p., 32 euros).

At the start of the conflict, Ukrainians made moderate demands for a negotiated peace. Now that they have succeeded in pushing back the Russians in different places, they are more demanding. According to you, what are the conditions to guarantee the security of the country?

On this subject, the main thing to say is that it is up to the Ukrainians to define these conditions. As an American, I don’t think I’m in a position to tell them how to be safe. However, any negotiation must be based on one essential element: armed aggression must not be rewarded. It also seems obvious to me that the war cannot end without Ukraine having obtained from its Western partners that they guarantee its security. We must commit ourselves in this direction, it is up to us to reflect on the future that we wish for Ukraine, so that it can emerge from the war without fear of its return.

Does this mean, as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said, that Russia must be “sustainedly weakened”?

From Washington, or any other foreign capital, an illusion can easily take hold of our leaders: it is tempting to believe that one could define remotely, in very precise terms, what the end of the war will look like or should look like. This is clearly not the case. I don’t think weakening Russia is a coherent goal either. The priority remains to provide the Ukrainians with the military equipment they need to continue the fighting and win.

The morale of the Ukrainian soldiers is much better than that of the Russians. The law is also on their side. One thing they lack: military equipment. They don’t have enough artillery pieces, tanks, combat vehicles, etc. The West can provide them with everything they need to better face the Russian invader. We must also provide the financial and humanitarian aid that Ukraine needs.

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